Are Roland Set To Reissue The TR-808?

Will we see the return of the classic TR-808? According to leaked details, Roland may well be bringing it back in an updated form.

The Roland TR-808 helped to craft a huge amount of electronic music since it was released in the early 80s and it’s still used today in all kinds of genres. So bringing it back would be pretty special, right? Well it seems Roland is ready to bring the 808 back, albeit in an updated form. The Japanese manufacturer released a video just before the NAMM trade show promoting the AIRA, described as “the evolution of the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Machine”. The leaked image above shows what the AIRA could look like and while it’s quite a way from the old black, orange and yellow colour scheme, its modern design with backlight buttons and numerous faders and knobs will cater to fans of the Maschine.